A Visit from afar
by PhantomBowtie
Summary: What if Merlin had an identical twin? Lerin visits Merlin in Camelot- and convinces everyone *he's* the real Merlin! Humor and general wackiness ensue. Only rated T because I don't really know what type the adventure will be yet! NO SLASH Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin & Co. EDIT: I changed my username from feywind1 to PhantomBowtie. Sorry, forgot to tell you! .
1. Chapter 1

Merlin hurried excitedly through his chores, polishing Arthur's boots and armor with quick, efficient strokes. Normally Arthur's commands of 'Fix my shirt Merlin, sine my shoes, muck out the stables, clean my chambers, bring me food, don't just sit there, _Mer_lin would have gotten to him. He would have done his usual role of jokingly complaining while Arthur half-mockingly bantered back with him. It would have gone on for a while, then Merlin would have left Arthur to go and do them, grumbling along the way, as Arthur grinned…as usual. But not today!

Today Merlin worked twice as quickly, humming as he did so. He didn't even use his magic- Arthur came back to his chambers at about midday, and Merlin planned to be done with his chores by then. He _definitely_ didn't want Arthur to walk in on him doing magic, today of all days. He had just received a letter from his twin, Lerin, who had left Ealdor about the same time Merlin had. Lerin had been wandering the whole time Merlin had been in Camelot, and from his letter had managed to find adventure everywhere—prominently in taverns and far-off lands.

Idly, Merlin wondered if Lerin and Gwaine would get along. He shuddered, thinking of all the havoc the two of them could wreak. While Gwaine might love taverns in order to get drunk, Lerin frequented them just as often for an entirely different reason. Lerin could not get drunk. If Merlin had received huge magical gifts, Lerin had received the ability to stay sober no matter what, go without sleep, and a myriad of other things which had made life in Ealdor…interesting, to say the least. The reason _Lerin_ went to taverns was to _pretend_ to get drunk, then act on it…once again, _interesting_ results.

Lerin had told Merlin in his letter that he was near Camelot, so he thought he'd stay there for a while. Merlin was thrilled- he hadn't seen his twin since they both left home. While Merlin had taken the turn in the road for Camelot, Lerin's path had veered off sharply in the other direction. The twins had said their goodbyes-("Are you _sure_ you don't want to come to Camelot with me? Warm bed? Real food?" "And stay cooped up all day? And sleep in _beds_?")- and the two had parted. They had always looked alike, but at Lerin's insistence they had looked _identical_ then, to the point where Hunith had confused each with the other!

Lost in thought, Merlin didn't notice Arthur enter the room…and _stare_ at him incredulously. "Are you humming, _Mer_lin? And…are you actually doing your chores?"

Merlin jumped. Looking up at Arthur from where he was sitting, Merlin grinned. "Why yes I am," he replied cheerfully.

Arthur walked over to Merlin and knocked on his head. "Have you gone _insane_? Have the few thoughts in your head run out on you? _Why_ are you humming?"

Grimacing-Arthur had knocked gently, but 'gentle' by Arthur's standards was strong by Merlin's- Merlin replied, "I have every right to hum! After all, aren't you always telling me to be happier about _serving_ you? It's such an _honor_, after all."

Arthur's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Somehow, Merlin, I get the feeling you're messing with me..."

Merlin widened his eyes in pretended innocence. "Who, _me_? Never…you prat."

"Idiot," muttered Arthur. Merlin reflected that Arthur really needed better comebacks. Not that he would help. Of course.

Giving Arthur's boot one last wipe, Merlin stood up and began to leave the room. "Where d'you think _you're_ going?!" shouted Arthur to his manservant's retreating back.

"Finished my chores-be back to serve you dinner-" came the echoing reply as Merlin raced away down the corridor.

"But its not even midday! And…What...I…ah…_MERLIN!_" Arthur stood perplexed in his room. What was up with Merlin today?

Hours later, Merlin raced to the gates of Camelot. He had been just about to leave and meet Lerin when Gaius had found him…His shoulders still ached from cleaning out the leech tank. Again. Now, he was late. As he ran along, Merlin hoped his twin hadn't minded much. Just before rounding the corner, Merlin felt two strong arms reach out and pull him behind a large stack of crates. Instantly, he whirled around to face…himself?

"Lerin!" he cried, flinging his arms around his brother. His embrace was returned with enthusiasm. The two boys began to walk towards the castle, animatedly catching up on what had happened over the last while. Merlin listened with awe at Lerin's tales of high adventure and sorcery. At times he sighed, wishing he had been there with his twin.

Lerin laughed at stories of Arthur and life in Camelot, and as he did so a funny sort of gleam came into his eyes. Merlin laughed it off, but the last time he had seen that same look he had woken up in the middle of the forest dressed in nothing but flowers, right where all the village girls walked by every day to gather edibles…Fortunately he had escaped in time, but it had been closer than he wanted to think about! Merlin resolved to be on his guard for a while.

The two twins still, miraculously , looked identical. They had the same eyes, ears, even hair! The one difference was a cut on Lerin's neck that was bandaged up—a particularly nasty goblin, according to Lerin.

Walking through the corridors towards Gaius' rooms, Merlin let down his guard…and Lerin pounced. The last thing he remembered was a sweet-smelling herb being thrust in his face, and Lerin carrying him somewhere…

Lerin surveyed his handiwork with glee. Merlin lay sleeping peacefully, hidden by a pile of hay. Someone's haycart, he thought vaguely. Quickly, he leaned down and whispered, "You fell asleep after dinner…you completely forgot Arthur's food…"

As the hypnotic effect of the herb took place, Merlin muttered in his sleep. Lerin grinned. Merlin wouldn't remember anything in the morning, nothing but meeting up with Lerin and having an exceptionally good dinner…then falling asleep. Whistling, Lerin headed back to the castle. He was ready. He'd even switched clothes with his twin—everything was going well.

Not that he'd ever hurt his brother of course—Merlin was far too precious to him for that. He was the one person who understood everything about Lerin, and Lerin would die before letting anyone harm his brother or his brother's friends. There was just something priceless about seeing Merlin's shocked face after a prank—Lerin's favorite pastime! And this Prince Arthur character seemed like just as fun. If he guessed correctly, Merlin hadn't told anyone about Lerin's visit, and Lerin could barely suppress his glee at the thought of how many people he could confuse!

Ten minutes later, Arthur looked up to see Merlin walk in with his dinner, and for once it was lavish and obviously delicately prepared. Merlin _never _did that. Maybe, thought Arthur smugly, Merlin was finally acting normal.

As Arthur ate, Lerin planned. The prince hadn't even noticed he wasn't Merlin…perfect.

**Alright guys, this is my first fanfic so if you could review it'd be _fantastic! Tell me if its any good? Please? _**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter 2! Sorry its shorter-I'm working on my storyline but the next will be longer, I promise!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin...that's probably for the best!**

At first, Arthur didn't know. Merlin was late in waking him up (as usual); Arthur had already sleepily begun to open his eyes. Merlin raced into Arthur's room with breakfast, breathless and apologetic, too busy even to look at him. From what Arthur could make out, he was _'so sorry he'd missed giving him dinner last night, didn't know what had come over him, and he'd woken up late as well and hoped Arthur wasn't too mad but…'_

Arthur stared blearily at him in confusion. "What are you blathering on about, Merlin?" he asked, bewildered. You were right here on time last night, with a decent dinner for once as well! I really don't know what…." He trailed off. Merlin had finally turned around to help him get up, and his expression was one of horror, shock, and…amusement? "What is it now, Merlin?" asked Arthur suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Ah…Nothing, Arthur," replied the manservant nervously as he tried not to stare at his master's now-bright pink hair, "Nothing at all. I'll just go and, ah, c-clean your armor…" He fled, leaving a baffled Arthur to emerge from his rooms and head towards his father's court.

As Merlin walked back to Gaius' chambers, he could only think of one explanation; Lerin had a hand in this. It had to have been his twin: Who else could it have been? Sighing, because Lerin always did this to him, Merlin opened the door to Gaius' space. As he did so he noted the physician wasn't there. A noise coming from his room caused Merlin to freeze. Slowly and carefully Merlin opened the door. Another snore emerged. There lay Lerin, sleeping blissfully in Merlin's bed, no doubt dreaming of the havoc which would soon ensue due to his actions.

Merlin frowned at the thought of what Arthur would say…It was bound to be rather vocal. And probably involve loads of extra work, not to mention being put in the stocks. Perhaps even more than once. He remembered suddenly that the pink dye lasted an entire week—his mom had been furious when she had gone outside to find all the animals dyed pink. It was going to be a week of Arthur hell. Suddenly Merlin brightened. A grin snuck across his face as he looked down at his sibling. Why should Merlin be the one Arthur tormented? As he remembered, Lerin had left him asleep in a hay cart somewhere in Camelot…a hay cart leaving Camelot today.

Sitting in the moving hay cart later, Merlin reviewed his plan. It hadn't been that hard to sneak into the hay cart in the first place, and now it bumped along the dirt country road. When Arthur finally looked into a mirror-or saw his father-he would be furious with 'Merlin'. Unfortunately for Lerin, he would be the only 'Merlin' to be found in Camelot….and thus would be the one Arthur assigned chores to. Merlin would spend a couple weeks in the forest where nobody would find him, then head back to Camelot. That would turn Lerin's prank right back on him! Closing his eyes, Merlin drifted off to sleep in the sunny back of the cart, a smile on his face.

Lerin awoke to voices shouting Merlin's name. He was about to say that Merlin wasn't here when an older man –did Merlin say his name was Gaines? No, it was Gaius—opened the door to Merlin's chambers and held it open, muttering, "You've really done it this time…"

An irate Prince Arthur burst into the room as well. "_Mer_lin!" he shouted, "_what have you done to my hair?!"_

Lerin blinked, thinking fast. Apparently, Merlin hadn't shown up yet…this wasn't how The Plan was supposed to go…

"Sorry, Sire?" he asked, feigning innocence.

Arthur just growled. Grabbing Lerin by the shirt Arthur dragged him from the room. Back in his chambers, Arthur rounded on Lerin. "What were you _thinking_? It's fortunate for you my Father hasn't seen me yet- I looked in a mirror and hid for hours until he went away. _Hours, Mer_lin. _Me_."

"And what makes you think _I _did this?" demanded Lerin, a bit put out.

Arthur just looked at him drolly. "Of _course _it was you, idiot. Who else would _dye my hair pink?_ More importantly, how will I hide this? If my father sees me…" He groaned, burying his pink head in his hands.

"Well, if you wore a very big hat…" came the reply.

**Thank you so much for reading this! Everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed my story-thank you so much! It means alot to me to know that my story is liked! For all you others- please review! If you have ideas, thoughts, tell me!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone! I am really really really sorry I didn't post this sooner-there is no excuse! I await my execution! *bares neck* ...but wait, if that happens, you'll never find out what happens next...soooo I'll give you all electronic dragons instead~! I _will _get better at this-I have a goal to update every three days now...**

**DISCLAIMER: As it happens, I don't own Merlin or any of its characters, sadly...I could have so much fun with Gwaine...(but I don't think he'd survive very well in the chaotic world of my brain so maybe its for the better XD )**

Merlin slowly sat up and stretched leisurely. He lay on the forest floor for a moment, blinking slowly. It had been two days since he had taken the hay cart out of Camelot; two days of blessed peace. He awoke when he wanted to, did what he wanted to, and most importantly, _slept_ as long as he needed to; a far cry from everyday life in Camelot! If anyone but Lerin had been the one watching Arthur, Merlin never would have been away this long. This, however, was too good of an opportunity to miss. Not only was Lerin dealing with the aftermath of his prank, but _Merlin _was finally able to rest, to relax. Here in the forest there was no Arthur to order him around; there was nothing but sunshine and warmth. Merlin gave a small, satisfied sigh. _These few days have really been…_

_ …horrible, _thought Lerin disgruntledly as he halfheartedly scrubbed at Arthur's boot. He felt sore all over from all the mucking out of stables he'd done in the last two days; Arthur had made a point to find every single stable in Camelot for him to clean. On top of that, the Prince had repeatedly completed vigorous training sessions with the younger knights in the mud and had Lerin clean his armor 'until it shone' which, as Lerin had found out, was _not _as easy as Merlin had made it out to be. Lerin was called at the oddest and worst hour for the littlest things: 'Wake up Merlin, the prince has decided all the brass in his rooms must be shined', or 'I know its past midnight Merlin, but my tunics have all inexplicably disappeared, I need you to find them…' After Lerin had completed the task, Arthur would find something wrong with it, and it would have to be done over…_again._

Clearly Prince Arthur did not take kindly to having pink hair.

He had tried everything short of sorcery to get rid of it, but (as Lerin knew) nothing worked. So far, nobody but Lerin knew the Prince's hair was anything but its natural blond color, and Arthur intended to keep it that way. If any of the knights found out…especially Gwaine…Lerin grinned at the thought. Then he shuddered. Two days of Prince Arthur's wrath had taught him to be much more prudent when it came to jokes.

There was something else on his mind as well, significantly larger than the Prince's behavior: Merlin. Lerin hadn't seen his twin since he left him in the hay cart, and it worried him. When Lerin had gone to get Merlin, the cart~ and his twin~ were gone. Stallholders nearby had cheerfully told him that the merchant had left hours before Lerin came, and since Merlin was nowhere to be found, Lerin could only hope that he had fallen asleep in the cart and wasn't lost somewhere in the city…though lost in the woods seemed just as dangerous. Normally Lerin would have gone after his twin immediately, but Arthur had set a knight to make sure he did it and worked him so hard he hadn't had any extra time, then Gaius made him clean out leech tanks for hours...As a child, Merlin had always been the one trouble and danger seemed attracted to, fretted Lerin. If he left to look for Merlin now, then when they returned Merlin's position in Camelot would be uncertain. The thing Lerin remembered the clearest from their brief conversation was how much Merlin valued being here. He had said something about a 'destiny'… So Lerin stayed, and worried about his twin.

Merlin wandered through the woods, a bit aimlessly. Sunlight cast dappled shadows on the moss-green ground of the forest, and birds sang somewhere above his head. He really didn't have anything to do…A glint on the forest floor caught his attention. It was small, about the size of a pebble, and roundish. Merlin stared at it in fascination. Whatever it was, the sunlight reflected off of it like it was one of Kilgarrah's scales, but it was the wrong shape and…something about it seemed to demand Merlin's attention. Mesmerized, he peered at it closer, kneeling down to better inspect it, reached out his hand…

"Lerin!" A shout came from the thicket to one side of Merlin. His hand quickly scooped up the object as if of its own volition, thrusting it deeply into a tunic pocket as rapid footsteps grew nearer. A hand grabbed his shoulder and Merlin jumped, whipping around to face the new arrival. "Where _have _you been?"

A young man of about Merlin's age stood there, face a bit worried. He had bright red hair, startling green eyes, and a myriad of freckles across the bridge of his nose. His skin was fair, and Merlin idly wondered if he sunburned easily. He shook his head. Where had that thought come from? He continued his inspection. The man wore leather armor, a tunic, and trews [**author's note: that's pants in case you didn't know **]. Leather cuffs adorned each wrist, and a single earing dangled from one of his ears. He wore no shoes, but the most startling thing about him was the color of his clothes. They were all a bright, vibrant red that matched his hair. All in all, the effect was quite striking.

"Lerin?" asked the man again, eyebrows coming together in puzzlement. "What's wrong? It's me, Kettu. Did something happen?"

Quickly, Merlin shook his head. He grinned, and replied, "Nah, just tired." Obviously this…'Kettu' knew Lerin, and they were probably travelling together as well. If Lerin was impersonating Merlin, then Merlin might as well return the favor. After all, Kettu looked like a fun person, and Merlin needed _something_ to do.

"You're _tired_?" Kettu seemed shocked. "But you _never _wake up early!" Ha, thought Merlin. Never wake up early. I wish.

The two of them wandered for a while in the woods, setting up a camp when it began to grow dark. Kettu produced a bundle of dried spices and vegetables, which he put into a pot. (Merlin couldn't quite understand where exactly the pot had come from, but surely Lerin would have known…) Rummaging around, Merlin found several edible plants to add to the mixture, the result of which was very tasty. After eating and cleaning up, Merlin and Kettu lay back, admiring the stars. It was all so peaceful…Merlin felt himself envying Lerin a bit. To live like this forever would be, well, _fun_.

Kettu interrupted the silence. "So, why'd you leave early? If we had left together we could have had _days_ of fun." His eyes glazed over dreamily. "You should have seen it, Lerin- there were so many bars on the way here! And there was a band of stuck up knights that rode through the other day and stopped under this grove of trees that leaned really close to the ground…It was a perfect opportunity for pranks…Remember last time?" His eyes cleared and he looked over at Merlin conspiratorially. "The looks on their faces when the woke up to find all their shoes hanging from the trees with faces drawn on them, ah, priceless!" Throwing back his head, he began to laugh in a clear, silvery voice, but his head hit against something invisible which sent out a cloud of sparkling powder. It landed all over his face and chest.

Merlin laughed at Kettu's dumbstruck expression. A moment later Kettu began to laugh as well, and Merlin felt dust settle all over him too. This only made him laugh all the harder. A couple of moments later, Kettu recovered enough to say, breathless, "Well this certainly makes tomorrow a bit more interesting!"

Lerin walked wearily back towards Merlin's chambers. It had been a long day, far too long by his perspective. All that cleaning…Not paying attention to where he was going, Lerin walked into someone. Looking up, he saw it was Gwaine.  
"Hello, Merlin" said the knight with a huge smile. "Just who I was looking for! The rest of the knights and I are going to the bar, wanna come? "

Lerin's eyes lit up. He _loved_ bars. Ever since he had discovered he was unable to get drunk he had spent countless hours pretending he was, much to everyone else's amusement. After all, nobody held you accountable for what you did when you got drunk…or when you were _thought_ to be drunk… "I would _love_ to, Gwaine!" he beamed. This was just what he needed after spending all that time with Arthur.

"I know you usually don't, but we all noticed what a hard time Arthur has been giving you recently, and we…What? You agreed?!" asked Gwaine, aghast. He hardly dared believe he'd actually won so easily. Taking Merlin's arm, he headed in the direction of the bar. This would be _**fun**_.

**Sooo, what'd you think? Thank you all so much for reading this! Special thanks to all who reviewed, it really helps me along :)**

**Thank you also to IreneGypsy, merlina, and amerlinfan for your reviews-I couldn't send you a message to say this, so I'll put it here!**

**Kettu means fox in Finnish: I thought that name with his hair and clothing colors, it'd be ironic! He's quite a character, wait till you see. I think he may be even more mischevious than Lerin!  
**

**Lerin: Hey! What was that for! You're gonna wake up with all your clothes as dresses and just _wait _till you find your...I'll let you discover that on your own..(*evil laugh*)**

**Me: No wait, I didn't mean it! I don't like dresses...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! It's been way too long... (0-o) Thank you very much everyone who reviewed, it makes me feel glad that other people are still reading this despite my procrastinations! I've decided that I'm really bad at doing anything that even remotely resembles 'on time'. I actually stopped watching Merlin (terrible, I know) and went through several other obsessions between then and now, which are reflected remarkably well in my Story Favorites, haha. Currently I'm watching Danny Phantom... XD Sorry this chapter's so short-I have several different ideas about what I should have happen next, so I can at least promise you interestingness! If you have any ideas that you think would work particularly well, let me know! **

"Three-two-one…GO!" shouted a tipsy Leon. Simultaneously, Gwaine and Lerin threw their heads back and drunk down a tankard of ale. They came up gasping, Lerin pretending to be horribly drunk and Gwaine actually as drunk as he seemed. Several of the other knights laughed at their antics, all convinced that _they_ of course weren't drunk, oh, not at all.

Lerin laughed the loudest of them all. "First one to balance a roll on their nose while dancing wins a drink!"

"_Dancing_? For god's sake Merlin, what do you think we are performers?! We're knights! We bash things on the head, not _dance_ with them!"

"_Oi_!" shouted an indignant Gwaine, "I'll have you know that dancing is…"

Four rolls hit him in the face and he went down, spluttering.

"Merlin, your challenge is ridiculous!" scoffed Percival. "I see no reason to…"

"You couldn't do it anyway," muttered Lerin belligerently. "_I _could. Not that I expected you to accept either way; it requires more balancing skills than you clodpoles have anyway."

"_I could so!" _Gwaine had once again regained his footing. "I could balance it longer than you, Merlin!"

"You two? You're so clumsy! Merlin, you fall down all the time! And you, Gwaine, are always drunk or about to be! There's no way you could either do it! I bet a gold coin!" declared Elyan. (Having a knight's stipend had its advantages.)

And so it was on. All the others chimed in with various wagers of how long they would stay up, if they would at all, and who (if anyone) would win. All the while Lerin secretly grinned. It sure was easier to mess with people who didn't know you couldn't get drunk.

Merlin stared dubiously at the contents of the tankard.

"Come on, Lerin!" wheedled Kettu. "If it doesn't look like your drunk, our target won't fall for the betting!"

The "target", a rather greasy fellow wearing a velvet-striped doublet. He sat ignoring everyone, counting and re-counting his money which lay in front of him on the table, glittering temptingly.

"We both know how good you are at your betting games," Kettu continued, "and _I_ sure as anything can't play the part; you know I can get drunk!"

Merlin shifted his dubious gaze to Kettu. Never got drunk? Was great at gambling? He tried to think of an instance when he had won at a gambling game…ever. Sure, he could make great gambles in the use of his powers to save Arthur, but _money_ gambling? Arthur still wouldn't let Merlin forget the last incident when he had lost so badly he had snuck back to his chamber in only his undergarments after losing everything else to the knights. As for drinking…far worse. Just a mouthful and he was seriously drunk. Apparently Merlin was now the subject of several very embarrassing rumors which he had absolutely no memory of, and for some reason nobody would tell him anything. Even the bits and pieces he had heard made no sense…What could "rotten squash field" mean? And "blue sheep"? He didn't even want to know about the last.

"Ler-_in_!" came the whine.

Merlin sighed in exasperation. Ah well, what did he have to lose? Screwing his eyes tightly shut, Merlin leaned his head back and took a huge mouthful…

**Well, what do you think? Good, bad, should send it through a portal, eat it...? What do you think should happen to poor Merlin next?**

**Till next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello to you all again! I was thinking the other day, isn't it terrible when authors don't post chapters except like once a month? Oh wait, hang on, that's me...I really do appreciate that people keep on reading this even though its not the most updated story. I hope you enjoy this segment, as things will start getting a bit more serious from here on out. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin.**

In Camelot, midday came and passed with no sign of the knights or Arthur Pendragon. The Court was abuzz with gossip- where was the young prince? Had something terrible happened to the Knights? Some of the courtiers simply nodded sagely and made remarks about a Great Quest, and the debate grew.

King Uther Pendragon watched as the chaos sluggishly spread, finally culminating when an unfortunate duke ran around shrieking, "They're all _dead_!"

This absolutely would not do. Standing abruptly, Uther began to stride briskly out of the throne room in search of Arthur. The boy _would _be found, and he would learn that a Pendragon and future ruler of Camelot simply did _not_ do…whatever it was Arthur was doing. To cause such chaos and disorder was absolutely unacceptable, thought the King irritably.

Opening the doors rather quickly, Uther heard a muffled "Oof!" Looking down, the King met the bleary eyes of his heir. The boy appeared to be sitting on the ground, of all places, along with his knights and that idiotic servant of his. Why Arthur insisted on keeping such a worthless servant was beyond Uther's reasoning; had it been up to the King, the boy would have been dismissed long ago. No matter. Arthur would simply have to learn to handle his own affairs as well as deal with his mistakes.

"Stand up, Arthur!" barked Uther, glaring down at his son. "Order your men to do the same!" As the Prince, Lerin, and the Knights did so, the King continued. "Much as I dislike chastising you in front of your men, this is unacceptable! All of you will stand at attention in the throne room until Court is adjourned. _Immediately, and don't try to talk back to me!"_ he thundered, not noticing that neither Arthur nor his Knights had so much as opened their mouths. Getting up, they silently filed past the King into the throne room. It was so late in the day, however, that the Court was adjourning almost as soon they walked in, releasing Arthur and the others from their punishment. Still, they waited until the King had left before relaxing.

Predictably enough, the first one to talk was Arthur. "_What _was in those drinks?" he moaned, squinting his eyes to shut out the too-bright light. The others made sounds of agreement, muted so as not to provoke their pounding hangovers. Now that their backs were no longer against the wall, it became apparent that each had a brightly colored smiley face sewn onto the back of their clothing. The other new trait, however, was…

"Blue tongues. What sort of person would think of this bloody trick?! Of all the…"

As Gwaine rambled on, nobody noticed Lerin's evil grin. He'd always wanted a blue tongue.

Merlin groaned halfheartedly as his headache redoubled. A whole night's worth of work, and what? Well, apparently he _could _win at gambling…but only while drunk. The money of last night's target jangled loudly at his side, sending arcs of agony through Merlin's skull.

A couple feet away, Kettu chatted animatedly. "…Almost thought you really were drunk, but your acting's just gotten better! That man never suspected a thing, he must have been pretty drunk too! And the way you handled those cards like that, where'd you learn that skill? I've never seen your hands move faster! And when you called him a 'blue sheep'…The look on his face was _priceless_! And he didn't even…Lerin? Are you alright? Lerin?! LERIN!"

Neither of the two had noticed the barkeep slip a tiny vial into Merlin's drink last night…

**Well? Tell me what you thought! Now that school's pretty much over, I should be able to update a bit more :)**

**See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello all! As I was working on writing this for the last couple of days, I realized that I usually post chapters a bit closer to the beginning of the month-I apologize, but now I have the next couple chapters figured out. I've already begin the next chapter, which should be up soon. (Littleheartache, I realized that when I said I thought I'd do two chapters in June, it was already July so I shall endeavor to do two chapters this month ^-^)**

**That -all being said, I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

Across from an old bridge near the inn where Merlin and Kettu had spent their ill-fated night, a dense thicket grew. Several thick trees towered above the assorted brush and bracken, lending an almost eerie feel to the place. Most travelers avoided it, believing (and rightly so) it to be a haunted place. To those currently residing in it, however, it was a desperately-needed sanctuary.

The two figures had stumbled into it early that morning, one clearly unconscious and supported by the other. Several hours had passed since then, during which time the conscious figure had made a sort of bed for the collapsed one, fetched water from the nearby stream, and generally fretted himself into a frenzy.

Sitting across from Merlin, Kettu was in a state of deep worry and bewilderment. As he watched his friend toss and turn feverishly, one thought plagued him: Why had Lerin not taken the antidote?

The question of who poisoned Lerin was obvious: There was only one person who tried to kill him on a fairly frequent basis—a bounty hunter, under allegiance to a lord whose castle had been raided one too many times by Lerin, before he met Kettu.

It was the result that made no sense—they both knew the bounty hunter was after Lerin, so he was always prepared. Not like Marwol wanted to kill Lerin, after all. While it was true that Lerin had received a death sentence from the noble who controlled Marwol's actions, the bounty hunter himself ceased trying to honestly kill Lerin after an incident involving several angry griffins and a guard where Lerin saved his life.

Since then, all attempts were easily thwartable due to the antidote. Marwol had to make it look like he really was trying to kill Lerin without actually doing so. He had a specialized brand of poison that only he had the antidote to, a process which not even his lord noble could find fault with. He did, on the other hand, supply Lerin with the antidote…which his lord knew nothing of. So why hadn't Lerin taken the antidote this time?

Once Kettu thought about it, the answer was so simple it took his breath away. "You're not Kettu, are you?" he whispered to the still form before him.

But if he wasn't Lerin, who was he?

As the sun rose on another day in Camelot, Arthur woke to find (much to his relief) that his tongue was no longer blue. Or was that orange? Honestly, with all the tomfoolery that had been going on around here, he was surprised he could still remember that...oh, he had _hair._ Struck by a sudden terrifying thought, he reached up to find…no, panic averted. Not pink. And all of his clothes seemed to be normal. No smiley faces, no glitter, no…*shudder* _lace_…

Just as Arthur was beginning to relax (and inwardly contemplate how he would jibe Merlin this morning), the doors to his chambers burst open with such force that the Prince actually flinched backwards. Only for a moment.

Then- of course, who else would dare _slam _the doors to his chambers- _Merlin _waltzed in, with his chorus of inane wake-up calls: "_Wake UP then, lacks-a-daisy! Rise and shine, the day's awaiting!" _

This morning, like so many others, Arthur frowned. Maybe he was imagining it, but Merlin's greetings seemed a bit…off. Not what he usually said. The tone was the same (albeit a bit more on the mischievous side), the stride was the…hang on, no! The _stride_ was different. Not Merlin-like. It was too balanced, to alert. Almost like a fox's, or a fighter's…

Lerin, noticing the suspicious gaze of the Heir, covered his rising apprehension with a smirk. The Prince could _not find out._ Besides ruining the game, it would probably add all sorts of complications for him, so… "Have I got something on my face, my lord? Or are you still asleep?"

_Why had Merlin called him 'my lord'? He never calls me 'my lord'…_ Shaking off the thought, Arthur retorted, "More awake than you, _Mer_lin. Late again, I see. Honestly, if you ever showed up on time, I'd suspect…" Trailing off, Arthur realized that Merlin was, in fact, on time. Disconcerted, he tried to shake off the feeling that he was seeing double and scramble for an ending to his sentence that wasn't **that you were an impostor. **

For some reason, Merlin supplied it after a moment of silence. "…that Gaius kept me awake all night?" He shot Arthur a look that was clearly along the lines of _did-you-bump-your-head-really-really-hard-while-I- was-not-looking?_

Indignant, Arthur retained a mock-disgruntled silence all throughout his breakfast. Inwardly, though, he was reassured. What had he been thinking, being suspicious of _Merlin_? The servant couldn't even tie on his neck-kerchief properly, sometimes! Besides, who could mimic Merlin so well? They'd have to be identical. Sure of himself once more, Arthur Pendragon, Heir of Camelot, went on with his day, content in the fact that nobody could pull the wool over _his _eyes.

As Lerin's day went on, he began-once again-to grow weary of castle life. There was just so much to be done—polishing, mucking out the stables, cleaning, mucking out the stables, carrying laundry, mucking out the stables, waiting hand and foot on a spoiled, pompous prince who (as far as Lerin was concerned) understood _nothing _about his brother at all, and not to forget, mucking out the stables. And the leech tank. And Arthur's rooms. And the stables.

Lerin did not like horses. When he and Merlin had been younger, they used to race about on whomever's horses they could manage to borrow which, to be fair, hadn't been all that often. Sure it was great fun then, but as he was travelling Lerin got into an…ah…_interesting_ situation with several horses. Very interesting, according to Kettu, who had laughed fit to burst upon being told the tale. Never to be remembered, according to Lerin. Ever.

As a result, having to spend hours of his day in a small, enclosed area with aforementioned creatures, _carting about their waste_, did not appeal to Lerin at all. It wasn't something he would do even if he did like- *shudder*-_horses. _ Tricking someone else into doing to for him? That would be more like it, but apparently it didn't fit in with his twin's personality; the first (and only) time he had tried it, the only result Lerin got was a laugh on the part of his victim, who promptly strolled off, chuckling intermittently.

That was another problem about Camelot, he mused, the fact that everyone expected Lerin-or, more accurately, "Merlin," to act so horrifyingly cheerful all the bloody time. Was that how Merlin really acted here? Lerin knew for a fact that Merlin was very clever—why did everyone here expect him not to be? It must be because of the magic, he supposed. Any sorcerer living in the castle of the king who had personally sworn to kill all magic-users must instill a certain level of wariness, but it was ridiculously difficult to act like this all the time.

As a result, when Gwaine found Lerin trudging grumpily down the corridor late that night carrying an armload of Arthur's laundry and invited him to come to the tavern, Lerin was only too happy to oblige.

**Please remember to review, as they are a writer's inspiration! ^-^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Allrighty, folks, here it is in the last minutes before August-THE NEXT CHAPTER! I did it, for once XD**

**I would like to extend a thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and especially to **yay**-I am one of those freakishly fast readers who leaves a review on every single chapter of stories I like, so when I saw allof yours some place in my mind thought "yes! One of those people has read my story!"**

**Here's the answer to your last question!**

**Sorry it's a bit short, but I have work tomorrow. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer-I do not own Merlin or anything but my characters Lerin, Marwol and Kettu, along with my story idea *evil grin***

The bar was hot and crowded, filled to the brim and almost overflowing with patrons elbowing and jostling each other for a better position at the tables. Amidst the crowd and bustle, Lerin headed-once-again to get more drinks. He and Gwaine had been there since…well, early evening until now. Whenever "now" was. Whatever time of morning it may have been by now. Good gad, this man could drink—Even Lerin was feeling a bit off. It could be boredom, though. There was only so long somebody unable to get drunk could pretend to be drunk for, especially after a long day's worth of work serving Prince Arthur. Boredom and tiredness…Probably that…A strong hand reached out and grabbed Lerin's wrist with crushing force, hard enough to make him spill the drinks and glance down, cursing colorfully. Seeing who it was, Lerin stopped abruptly.

Marwol reclined back, taking up an entire crude rough-hewn bench. The bar was fuller than usual that night, but not even the hardiest of the groups bunched uncomfortably on the surrounding benches did more than glance at Marwol, who exuded his usual Look-at-me-wrong-and-I'll-make-you-wish-you'd-neve r-been-born attitude. It was off-putting, to say in the least. The surrounding folks would clearly rather be squashed together like so many sheep off to market than take their chances with the menacing assassin.

Lerin, of course, had no such qualms: He trusted Marwol with his life. Literally. The man had gone from relentless hunter to a respected friend, so Lerin felt comfortable joking around with him, much to the astonishment of whomever happened to be passing by at that moment. Not that a menacing person out to kill him would affect him all that much; Lerin had decided long ago that if he was going to die, he'd do it in his own way—laughing. About to make what he perceived to be a witty comment, he paused upon seeing Marwol's face.

The man looked as though he had seen a ghost, pale-faced and shocked, a state Lerin had only seen on him once before; the day he had saved Marwol's life before they were friends. "_Lerin?_" whispered the man harshly, " Is that you?"

"Marwol, what's wrong?" asked Lerin urgently in a hushed tone. If something was bad enough to seriously alarm the assassin, Lerin needed to know about it. Now.

"It is…ah, gods…" the man trailed off bitterly, putting his head in his hands. "We need to talk. Now. Lerin—I may have made a grave mistake…"

Convincing Gwaine to finally leave the tavern had proved almost impossible, and it was only by Lerin shouting, "Look, Gwaine, somebody wants to marry you!" and pointing in a random direction had gotten rid of him. Lerin could only thank his lucky stars that the man had been too inebriated after his drinking spree to notice his (obvious) ploy. Now, sitting crouched at the edge of a lake deep in the forest, Lerin bluntly got down to business.

"What is it you wanted to tell me, Marwol?" he demanded, a bit anxiously. The other man had been acting skittish ever since he saw Lerin, glancing around as though he expected someone to jump out of the bushes at him.

Marwol sighed deeply. "Brace yourself, Lerin—You were almost at the border of Cenred's kingdom yesterday."

Lerin frowned. He didn't see what was so bad about that. He obviously hadn't been, so what was the big deal? "Is that all, Marwol?" he asked, "I wasn't there, so it's fine. You must have just seen somebody who looked like me…."He trailed off in horror. Who looked so much like him that Marwol, a trained assassin, couldn't distinguish between them at a glance? It would have to be…"Merlin!"

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" asked Marwol patiently.

"I-I have a twin, Merlin…It must have been him that you saw…But when you say 'saw', do you mean…?" stammered Lerin desperately. Whenever Lerin "saw" Marwol, the latter tried to kill him, as a given. Normally due to the supply of antidote it was fine, but Merlin, unknowing in the ways of the assassin would have had no chance… "We have to get him the antidote!" cried Lerin desperately. Not Merlin, no, not his twin! It was all his fault, for coming, for impersonating Merlin. Images of his brother, fevered and in pain swam before his eyes.

"Lerin, LERIN!" yelled Marwol, shaking him roughly. "Listen to me, there's still time to get to him before the poison finishes him, trust me! We-or you, at least, can't just go running off now. Think, use your head—you're obviously impersonating your brother. What would happen if "Merlin" just disappeared? Or if his master discovered that you were, in fact, not he? I have no desire to see you killed. Make your excuses to the parties in the castle and meet me here in two hours. Bring supplies and weapons. We have five days to save your brother's life."

**Sooo? Thoughts, questions, comments? Please review and tell me! ^-^**

**See you next time!**


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